Canine distemper outbreaks are a fact of life in animal shelters across the country, and a frequent cause of loss of life for infected and exposed dogs. In this Maddie’s InstituteSM webcast, Dr. Cynda Crawford, Maddie's Clinical Assistant Professor of Shelter Medicine at the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine, discusses the basics of the virus, risk factors, how to limit exposure, lifesaving interventions and best practices, as well as, tips on how to communicate with the media and community members.
Domestic cats
Birds
Raccoons, foxes and coyotes
Horses and cows
Poor efficacy of current vaccines for distemper.
Inadequate vaccination of large numbers of owned and unowned dogs.
Virus persistence in the environment.
None of the above; canine distemper is not prevalent in the U.S. because most dogs are vaccinated.
More than half of the dogs entering shelters have no immunity to distemper and response to vaccination may take days to weeks.
Association of susceptible dogs with cats that are infected with canine distemper virus.
Most dogs are vaccinated against distemper but the vaccines are not effective.
Virus persistence in the environment.
True
False
True
False
True
False
Canine distemper antigen test
Canine distemper antibody test
Canine distemper PCR test
Clinical signs of distemper are distinct and can be relied upon for diagnosis
Euthanasia of sick and exposed dogs to create a clean break for starting over.
Isolation and quarantine to protect unexposed dogs and dogs that must be admitted.
Press releases blaming dog owners in the community for the shelter outbreak and requesting donations to save the dogs.
Adoption of all sick and exposed dogs as soon as possible to create a clean break for starting over.
Virus shedding period
Virus persistence in the environment
Virus resistance to common disinfectants
Virus incubation period
True
False
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